InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ True Companion ❯ Survival ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from InuYasha. ::whimpers:: I can’t even find a Sessy-shoumaru plushie. Heehee, imagines Sessy plushie with little Tenseiga and Tokijin and an optional Jaken to go with him. Kawaii….want now.

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Rin stared at the ground unable to comprehend everything that had happened. She had expected abuse, she had been prepared for pain, but she had not even thought of him forcing himself on her. That was her mistake, she had been protected for so long she never even considered the idea that he would rape her, even though that was an obvious outcome. She should have prepared herself, but how do you prepare yourself for something you have never experienced.

As the evening turned to night Rin slowly began to bring herself together. She looked around the camp still slightly in a daze. No one was looking at her, not even the man who had approached her when she was first brought. If someone did look they quickly averted their gaze, but Rin knew it wasn’t fear of the demons that made them do so, she was simply too butchered to stand looking upon. Rin lowered her head and tried to relax her pained body with little success. Suddenly a woman and a bandit came rushing out of a tent both laughing and the bandit looked very drunk. The woman clumsily walked backwards and fell to the ground near Rin.

The bandit took hold of the woman’s hand and tried to lift her up but the woman simply pulled away. "Please, I am exhausted. Let me rest a moment, you are simply too much for a woman to take." Rin could hear both her and the bandit laughing behind her.

"I’m going to get a drink then you better be ready," the bandit said stumbling off.

Rin felt herself getting nauseous. How could the woman do something like that and laugh?

"You do anything you can to survive in this place," the woman said as if knowing Rin’s question. Rin slowly lifted her head. "Do not acknowledge my presence here."

"Water, you brought the water," Rin said recognizing the woman’s voice.

"Listen to me, this camp, it is all about survival," The woman said, her voice deadly serious. "Haku-sama, the eldest demon, lives to challenge great demons to fight to the death. Akki-sama lives to please himself, but he must obey Haku-sama to survive. The bandits must obey the demons to survive, and the women must submit to everyone if they want to survive. Your death is certain when your Sesshoumaru-sama comes, but until then you must survive. We will give you your chance."

"Why?"

"I have survived here the longest, so I try my best to make sure all the women live. This will be your only chance."

Rin could barely believe what the woman had said. The drunken bandit stumbled back to the woman and lifted her up with surprising ease. "Let’s go, I am far from done for the night." They both walked away laughing.

Survive. A simple word, but in this place, it is beyond anything I can do. How do you survive in this place? How can a person be willing to do anything to survive? Why should I survive when all it means is pain and disgrace? What will Sesshoumaru-sama think when he smells that demon on me? How can I ever look at him again?

Rin leaned her aching head against the stake and closed her eyes. A part of her never wanted Sesshoumaru-sama to come for her and when she realized that the part that never wanted to leave him wept. Her tears stained the ground red with the blood they carried from her cheeks and sitting there, cold, weak, and scared Rin cried herself to sleep.

She awoke to a terrible sensation surrounding her legs. Her eyes widened in horror as she frantically kicked and dragged her legs across the ground trying to suppress the flames that were lapping at her skin. Akki picked up the torch she had kicked away and threw it back onto her bare skin. Rin scrambled and flung her body to rid her flesh of the scorching creature of flames crawling over her. She forced her legs to lift her from the ground. As she stood her arms scrapped against the wood tearing at what little skin was still in tact and twisting her broken arm in several directions at once.

Rin was in unbearable pain and all she could do was stand there, struggling for each breath. Akki once again picked up the torch but this time he walked up and held Rin against the stake. Slowly, he brought the flames to Rin’s side causing the dried blood to smolder and her body to turn black. As hard as she tried to stop them, screams leapt from her mouth only to be caught by Akki’s ears.

A perverse smile formed on his face and he leaned in close breathing in her scent. "The smell of fear and the sound of pain, nothing is more perfect together."

The agony swelled in her body as the flames danced into her wounds and up her side. All she could think was how she wanted to move away from the flames, away from the pain, but Akki’s grip was firm and his body strong. Rin squirmed beneath him and Akki pushed her even harder against the stake, lifting her from the ground. Even though her mind yelled at her to just hold out and wait for him to move the torch her body moved on its own and thrust her knee as far up as she could.

Both torch and demon moved away from her, and Rin could sense everyone in the camp turning to watch them. Akki’s eyes were filled with hatred, obviously he had never been struck twice by the same person. He rushed Rin, imbedding pieces of wood into her back, and lifted the entire stake from the ground, tossing it and Rin to the side. Once on the ground Rin struggled and slid the rope tying her arms together to the bottom of the stake and out, giving her a small amount of freedom. She struggled to stand and remain standing as Akki moved towards her. Blood rushed down her back and seeped into the ground below her.

For the first time since Rin was taken Akki unsheathed his sword and held it before him. Rin felt her death approaching with each step he made, yet she wasn’t afraid, not of death. A part of her knew that it didn’t matter if he killer her for Sesshoumaru-sama could restore her, but another, the part that had caused her to kick Akki, wanted her death to come, so that the pain would stop.

Before Akki was in striking distance of Rin the woman that had helped her came up behind Akki, sword in hand; because of the direction of the wind and his attention on Rin, Akki never sensed her approach. In one swift motion the woman thrust the sword into his back as far as she could, but with her level of strength it did not even pierce all the way through. Akki’s face showed pain and he just stood there a moment, motionless from shock.

Akki may have been still but the rest of the camp went into a riot. The women took any weapon they could find and started to attack the bandits. Two women ran to Rin, cut her bindings, and half led, half dragged her into the woods. Just before Rin lost sight of the camp she saw Akki turning to the woman who had attacked him. The two women had got her far into the woods before Rin was able to fully comprehend everything that was happening, but she still did not understand why.

"Why…are you…doing this?" Rin asked, struggling to breathe with the running and her wounds.

"Because…" one woman said but Rin slipped and she stopped speaking to help her.

The second one continued for her, "Because unlike us you have something to return to."

"What do you mean?"

"All of us have lost everything he had to those bandits. We have no families, no homes, and have suffered more than any of us wants to remember," the first woman said.

"But you, you have someone to go to, right? Someone who is going to come for you. We are happy to die saving you. It gives us the freedom only death can bring, but it will not be in vain, not if we can save you."

"No, you don’t understand! Sesshoumaru-sama…he can…I won’t die!"

"If Haku doesn’t kill you, Akki will. But, if you are away when your demon lord comes, then he will kill them as you say, and then you can return to him."

"But you don’t have to die!"

"Without anything to return to we don’t want to live."

Rin was silent for a moment, she couldn’t understand how they could so easily die for her. She did not deserve it. If they had something to return to they would, yet a part of her had not wanted to return to Sesshoumaru-sama. She did not deserve to be saved over them.

Suddenly, the woman stopped and for the first time Rin looked at where they had taken her. The river, bathed in a dim light, was before them, and surrounded by the dark forest it looked like a haven to Rin. Both women took strong grips on Rin’s arms and shoulders.

"Try and remain beneath the water as long as you can, let the current take you down the river," the first woman said.

"What?"

"Akki and Haku track by scent, the water will wash it away if you can go far enough down. There is a village some ways away, but if you let the current take you far enough you might be able to make it to the outer hunting areas and find a villager to help you. Try to get as far as possible before leaving the river."

"What about you two? The other women?"

"We will stall Akki as much as we can." The first woman smiled.

"Even if it is only a few seconds it may give you the time you need."

"No, please, listen to me!" Rin’s words barely escaped her mouth before the two women flung her into the river.

The current immediately stole Rin from the surface and it showed no resistance to the theft, only Rin struggled against its unbearable grasp. Beneath the surface Rin had no idea where she was going or how fast she was going there, all she wanted was another breath, which the water could not provide. She felt the river bottom at her side as she tumbled about and pushed against it hoping she was pushing herself up, and to her relief she found the surface. She tossed her head out of the water and drew in a more air than she thought her lungs could handle. The water crashed against her and forced her beneath it once again.

Over and over she and the river fought for control of her life, and for what felt like an eternity neither gave up. Then after a minute or an hour, Rin wasn’t sure, she felt the earth beneath her body and her head above the water. She crawled up the bank and saw that the river had curved and thrust her upon the edge instead of pulling her around. She forced herself onto her feet and ran to whatever was in front of her, which happened to be the edge of the forest. Rin hoped that was far enough away from the camp.

As Rin ran blood flowed from her wounds that the water had re-open and colored her pale body red. Her steps slowed the farther she went, as a mere human her wounds had to eventually bring her down. Quickly she began stumbling and soon tripped, crashing to the ground. The earth was soft and inviting beneath her. Her body wanted nothing more than to stop and rest, but Rin knew she had to get up again. She put as much strength as she could into her right arm and forced herself off the ground. Her legs wavered beneath her and she found she only had the power to stand as she was at that moment.

Suddenly, Rin heard the sound of footsteps in the woods, she tried to run but her legs wouldn’t move at all. Akki stepped out of the woods. His clothes were covered in blood and Rin could see a large slash across his face, one that only Haku could have made.

"You are going to pay dearly for what you have done." Akki’s voice was cold and harsh, not a single piece of amusement could be heard. He took out a small dagger and approached Rin. "They are all dead, you know. Niisan killed them all, the woman and the bandits, because you escaped." He pressed the blade to her cheek just hard enough to draw blood. "Bitch, you should not have run away…"

And now, she was dying. Even though all those women gave their lives to save her, so many died to help her, and she was dying. Her eyes struggled to stay open, though she wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was simply because she had to see what had happened to everyone, to see what happened because of her. Soon a horrible odor traveled in the wind. Rin knew the smell, she had smelled it just a short while before. It was the scent of burning flesh.

She turned as best she could, as light filled the area, to see the camp. A huge fire was blazing in the center of the camp, the bodies of the humans acted as fuel. Rin stared into the flames as they danced about the flesh. For some reason her pain began to fade and then the light left her eyes and nothing mattered anymore.

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Review Please. I will put up the next few chps once I get some reviews.